South Side Alchemy
by The Chemical Romantic
Summary: After a freak thunderstorm, Ed and the FMA cast are transported to Chicago. Can they make it back through the gate with the help of the residents that find them?
1. 1: Thunder, Lighting, and The Windy City

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. If I did, I'd get mobbed by fangirls, put in more stupid, and give Ed to my friend "Fullmidget Alchemist." **

**Also, I do not own the city of Chicago. If I did I'd make them put in more Blick art material stores and make them stop people from driving and talking on their cellphones at the same time. **

* * *

…_Where am I…? What is this place…?_

_There is no way this is real. I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming._

The thoughts echoed through Edward Elric's mind as he stared ahead of him.

What kind of world was this? Machines—automobiles? They couldn't be—sped past on the asphalt, taking directions from a red, yellow, and green lighted pole. There weren't any phone booths along the road, but instead every few feet were some kind of meter for how long someone could park in the spot. Tall buildings, bigger than Central City's by far and made of a glass-like material as well as iron and stone, loomed ahead. One large black building stood higher than all the others did.

People walked by, not even giving him as much as a glance from the corners of their eyes. He, on the other hand, looked at every one of them. They dressed in a way that he never saw before; girls had on barely-there shirts with mini-skirts and light jackets over them, and boys had their pants down to their knees with chains hanging from their pockets and strange cloths on their heads. Business workers walked by with briefcases, formal attire, and strange devices nearly attached to their ears, which they talked into speedily.

Of course, he had to look strange, too. A blonde boy of sixteen sitting there with no jacket and a metal arm, dripping wet while everyone else had umbrellas to protect himself or herself from the rain.

His gaze refocused as the windows of the café behind him shook. He jumped to the side, nearly falling over from shock.

He heard the disturbance before he saw it; someone had turned the bass all the way up on their stereo, and they were getting nearer—FAST.

A car came zipping around the corner, stereo blaring rap music.

Ed slammed his hands over his ears. "What is going on!" he shouted. "What kind of noise is that crap?"

In a second, the car was gone, and the sounds faded into the distance.

"What kind of place is this…?" he said, looking around.

A woman walked around the corner, a toddler in the stroller she pushed. They both looked so familiar, but it couldn't be…

Not here, Gracia and Elicia Hughes, here? No way, he told himself.

"Momma, look at the boy!" the Elicia look-alike said. "What's he doin' out here in the rain with no coat and without his momma?"

"Chelsea, calm down," the mother said.

The little girl was Chelsea. It wasn't them, then. What was he thinking, anyway? Why would they be here?

When they got nearer, Ed smiled slightly at the little girl, who beamed back.

"Momma, can I say hi to the boy?" Chelsea asked, but her mother shook her head.

As they walked by, Ed heard the mother say coldly, "Don't ever talk to a homeless person like that ever again, Chelsea Marie."

Her words stung.

Yes, Ed didn't really have anywhere to call home here, but hearing someone say it like that made it ten times worse.

After that, Ed tried to move, but failed miserably; it felt as though someone threw a weight over him.

The "weight" got heavier and heavier until he got a bit of a surprise.

A hooded figure, cloaked in red, walked towards him. A chill radiated from the form, and he suddenly felt like he wanted to stand up and run, as far away from whomever it was as fast as possible.

This command, however, never got from his brain to his legs.

The figure drew nearer and nearer, but as soon as it reached the door of the café, about 50 feet from him, the weight and chill both disappeared when a drop of water dripped from the awning onto the person's head.

A tiny voice came forth.

"Rain."

It sounded like a boy, and he was about Ed's size.

When the boy passed, Ed stared flabbergasted after him.

_Th-that kid has my jacket,_ he thought. _How the hell did he get it?_

"Hey, kid!" Ed called, standing up. "Where'd you get that jacket?"

The boy turned to face him, and Ed caught a glimpse of a pair of startlingly amber eyes, just like his own, which widened when they saw him.

"What the.." Ed began, and then he yelled as the teen took off. "Hey, get back here with my coat!"

Ed stood up and ran after the teen, running straight into traffic at one point.

With a large clamor of horns blaring, drivers shouting, and Ed's yells, he nearly lost his quarry to a small alley.

The chase continued, leading them around half the city of Chicago.

* * *

This is the end of chapter one. 

Thanks for reading; Chapter two comes soon.

Next character is… Alphonse! And there is a twist about Ed's prey, you'll see..


	2. 2: Fullmetal Fangirls

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. If I did, I'd put in oh-so-much more stupid. It needs more crack humor. **

**I do not own Chicago. Also, none of the characters are mine. **

**They are true people, but names were changed to protect the innocent.**

* * *

A girl walked around the guest room of a Chicago apartment. Her long black hair, tied back in a ponytail, swished about her neck, as she got ready for the day. She pulled a blue tank top over her form, and then pulled on a pair of jeans with white stitching down the sides. The sixteen-year-old took out two small bottles from a pink saddlebag. She twisted the caps off both of them, setting them on the table near a window facing Lake Michigan. 

She hummed a tune as she tapped a little bit of lotion from the first bottle into her hand and applied it to her dark skin. She took a few drops of lavender oil from the other bottle and rubbed that into her skin once the lotion was on.

When she finished, the girl picked up a sky blue umbrella and a denim backpack, slipping the bag over her shoulder.

"Perfect," the girl whispered, looking at her reflection in the mirror in the hallway. On the way out of the apartment, she stopped at a black and green-painted door.

"Chetan," she said, knocking. "Are you still asleep, wolf?"

She received no reply. The girl opened the door of the bedroom, stepping inside. Various items nearly concealed the carpet.

She rolled her eyes, looking around. The door barely matched the rest of the room: a strip of bright yellow police tape and a red and black sign reading "Posted, No Trespassing" advised visitors to stay away.

The resident long since painted the walls a light grey, and various symbols and images on the walls made delicately painted murals.

The bed, a light wood structure with a green bedspread, was empty. No one lay on it or anywhere else in the room.

"Chetan, come on. No hiding," she said. "It's Hazuki."

She still received no reply. Now, Hazuki wasn't the most patient, and she was getting angry. "Come on, Piartic, where the hell are you!"

Nothing. Hazuki walked across the room to the other side of the bed and sat down, looking at the desk next to her. It matched the dresser and the bed perfectly with its light surface.

Under the desk was the sleek black exterior of an amplifier, and a black cord led from it to a crimson Ibanez bass guitarher friendused to play the blues at a bar down in the suburbs.

Hazuki ignored the scene for a moment and walked over to a black and green Post-it note on a piece of unused canvas.

She picked up the note and read it quickly, then angrily let it flutter to the ground.

"_Zuki—_

_Saw it was raining and decided to take off for the day. _

_Be back whenever. _

_:3,_

_--Chetan"_

"CHETAN NIGEL MCMURRAY!"

Meanwhile, the Fullmetal was still racing after the coat-thief. At one point, the kid stood cornered, standing between Ed and a chain-link fence.

"I've g-got you now," Ed panted, standing in front of the boy. "Now, kid, give me back my jacket."

His response came forth in a quick shake of the head.

"Fine, then I'll make you hand it over," Ed told him.

The kid grinned, his mouth the only part of his face not shadowed by the hood. He jumped up, climbing over the fence in a flash. When he turned back for a one-second smirking glance at Ed, Ed caught a glimpse of his face.

_Al? _he thought, and then raced after him, snagging the knee of his pants on the wire and ripping open the knee of his left pant leg. Automail exposed, he darted after the boy again.

Hazuki twirled the umbrella in her hand, causing a flurry of raindrops to fly off in all directions.

A girl like her had to be careful in this part of town; boys constantly asked her out, but she always said the same thing: "Sorry, guys, I'm taken." Either way, she knew what she was doing. Hazuki Robins spent the time between birth and age six living in the ghetto. There she'd learned how to dance, how to "talk the talk and walk the walk," and also how to keep away the perverted freaks that roamed the streets.

Now, however, was a peaceful time. It was May, school was almost out, and Hazuki had a place at San's apartment with Chetan, her "older sister."

It got confusing sometimes.

Born in August, Hazuki was the youngest "sister." Lai, born in April, was the second oldest. Chetan of February was oldest, younger only to Erin and San, whom she lived with.

It was just an ordinary day for any of them, or so Hazuki thought. Her idea for these days halted in its tracks when she spotted something large and grey sitting in the alley between two buildings.

She froze, looking at it. It looked oddly familiar, whatever it was.

Hazuki took a few steps towards it and jumped back when it moved to glance at her.

"Hello," it said.

It was a suit of armour. Not just any armour, you see. It was undeniably Alphonse Elric.

Hazukistoodthere,her heart racing.

She swallowed then said, "Hi."

"Do you know where this place is?" Al asked.

Hazuki nodded. "This is Chicago."

"I've never heard of 'Chicago'…" Al said quietly. "Oh, and my name is Alphonse Elric."

"My name's Hazuki Robins."

She stood quaking before him. This was unbelievable. She'd been a fan of Fullmetal Alchemist since the show began, but Hazuki wasn't a "Fullmetal Junkie" like Chetan was.

She was a fangirl of Ed and Mustang, however.

"Okay, Hazuki." Al stated her name slowly, as thought trying to get used to the sound of it. He then paused for a minute before asking, "Have you seen someone named Edward Elric around? Nii-san has blonde hair, in a braid, and he's about this tall…" He held out his hand to show Ed's height. "Also, he's dressed in black with a red cloak—"

"Hey, get back here!" Ed called.

Hazuki turned around, and Al looked out of the alley around the corner. "Nii-san?"

"NEVAR!" The taunting, childish toneof his prey echoed around as they raced around the corner, and the teen slammed straight into Al.

The impact made a ringing sound on the armour, and just as the boy stood up, Ed came crashing into him.

The pair lay sprawled on the ground.

The teen's hood had slipped off, and Ed, not bothering to give his quarry a second glance, pulled the cloak off.

When he looked down at the figure after a cry of "JESUS!" came from the boy's mouth, Ed dropped the cloak and stumbled backwards from shock.

"A GIRL!"

"Yeah, a girl," she said, standing.

Hazuki walked towards the girl, looking her over. "Che, where in hell have you been?"

"Walking, until _this guy_ started chasing me."

Che glared at Ed.

Part of her blonde bangs had fallen into her eyes. The bangs themselves were extremely long, and were the same length as the rest of her hair, which she held back with a clip.

The tips of each hair, dyed black, contrasted greatly with her pale complexion.

"_You_ stole my jacket," Ed retorted.

"Pssht. Yeah, right," she said, rolling her eyes.

Hazuki picked up the cloak while Ed and Che argued.

After a while, Che sighed.

"You know what? Fine. You can _have _the damn…"

Hazuki jumped back as a bright red Mustang came rushing past down the street, splattering mud up from the gutter into the alley.

The trio in front of her stood there for a moment, drenched with dirty water and black mud.

"Perfect," Ed said sarcastically.

* * *

Behold, the end of chapter two. 

Chetan is the"other Al."

Next time

Mustang meets up with Ed and Al, and they taketrip to the suburbs while the true culture shock of 2006 sets in.

Review, peoples!

Al: -holds up a sign that says R&R-


End file.
